Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 28

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

, three

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, and one Latin Billboard Music Award. He won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012, he won the

Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year The Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin Americans, Latin record ...

. He has sold 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Guerra is one of the most internationally recognized

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

artists of recent decades. His popular style of merengue and

fusion has garnered him considerable success throughout Latin America. He is also credited for popularizing

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...

music on a global level and is often associated with the genre, although his distinct style of bachata features a more traditional

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

rhythm and aesthetic mixed with bossa-nova influenced melodies and harmony in some of his songs. He does not limit himself to one style of music, instead, his music incorporates a wide arrange of diverse rhythms such as merengue,

, balada, fusion,

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

, cha-cha-cha,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, classical, R&B,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, hip-hop/rap, son cubano, and

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

, amongst many others. '' Ojalá Que Llueva Café'' is one of his most critically acclaimed pieces.

Early life

Born Juan Luis Guerra Seijas, his parents were Gilberto Guerra Pacheco, and Olga Seijas Herrero. He has two brothers, José Gilberto, a plastic surgeon, and Diego Esteban, a graduate in business administration. He was a student at La Salle and Santa Teresita school, where he stood out for his love of sports. Before becoming interested in music, Guerra studied Philosophy and Literature at the

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo The Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) () is a public university system in Dominican Republic, with its flagship campus in Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) neighborhood of Santo Domingo and regional campuses in many citi ...

. He later studied guitar and music theory at the Dominican Republic's Conservatorio Nacional de Música (National Conservatory of Music) in Santo Domingo, and then decided to go to the United States to attend the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in Boston, from which he graduated in 1982 with a diploma in jazz composition. He then returned to the Dominican Republic and formed a band with local musicians from his community.

Career

1980s

Guerra released his first album, ''

Soplando ''Soplando''.(transl. Blowing) is the debut album by Dominican songwriter and musician Juan Luis Guerra and his group 440. It was released in 1984 by EMA Records. This album was not composed by Juan Luis Guerra, as he served only as a vocalist. I ...

'' (1984), with local musicians who became known as Juan Luis Guerra y 440. The number refers to the standard tuning of

A440 A440 or A-440 may refer to: * A440 (pitch standard) * A440 highway (Australia), a road in Victoria, Australia * Quebec Autoroute 440 (Laval) * Quebec Autoroute 440 (Quebec City) See also * Apollo 440, an English band * Airbus A400M The Air ...

. The band's name in Spanish is ''Cuatro Cuarenta'' ("Four Forty"). According to Guerra, this first album was based on jazz tunes and concepts he had learned at

Berklee Berklee College of Music () is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level ...

, and it "wasn't intended to be a commercial hit." Subsequently, however, he began to write more merengues. In 1983, after a performance in front of the Dominican entrepreneur Bienvenido Rodríguez, Juan Luis Guerra was signed to Karen Records. This marked a radical shift in Guerra's musical style toward merengue. In this period, he recorded two albums, Mudanza y Acarreo in 1985 and Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú in 1987. These works gained more recognition, and the band was nominated to attend the OTI (Organization of Iberoamerican Television) Festival to represent the Dominican Republic. In 1988, during the recording of the album Ojalá Que Llueva Café, Guerra became the dominant vocalist of 440. This album also began his international recognition; the album's sales topped the charts in many Latin American countries.

1990s

In 1990, 440 released their next album, ''

Bachata Rosa ''Bachata Rosa'' (Spanish for ''Romantic Bachata'', transl. ''Pink Bachata'') is the fifth studio album by Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and his group 4.40. It was released on 11 December 1990, by Karen Records. It brought bacha ...

'', which became a major hit and earned Guerra his first Grammy award. With sales over five million, the album let Guerra keep touring Latin America, US and Europe. It contains memorable love songs such as "Burbujas de amor" (Bubbles of Love), "Bachata Rosa", "Rosalía", "Como abeja al panal" (Like a Bee to the Honeycomb), "A pedir su mano" (Asking For Her Hand), "Carta de amor" (Love Letter), and "Estrellitas y duendes" (Little stars and elves). Guerra attracted controversy in 1992 after he released his next album, ''

Areíto ''Areíto'' or ''areyto'' was a Taíno language word adopted by the Spanish colonizers to describe a type of religious song and dance performed by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. The areíto was a ceremonial act that was believed to narrate and ...

'' (which is a

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

word for ''song and dance''). It featured the hit single " El costo de la vida", a song that decries corruption in Latin America and the rising costs of living as a consequence. Other songs included in this album protest the poor conditions in many Latin American countries, the celebration of the 'discovery' of the Americas ("1492"), and the

double standards A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

of first-world nations. "El costo de la vida" was his first number-one hit in the Hot Latin Tracks. His next album, '' Fogaraté'' (1994) avoided such controversy. It focuses on more rural and lesser known types of Dominican music, like '' Perico Ripiao''. Guerra's 1998 release '' Ni es lo mismo ni es igual'' (Neither The Same Nor Equal) won three Latin Grammys in 2000 for Best Merengue Performance, Best Tropical Song, and Best Engineered Album. Its hits include " Mi PC" (lit. "My PC", My Computer), " Palomita Blanca" (Little White Dove), and " El Niágara en Bicicleta" (The Niagara on Bicycle).

2000s

In 2004, Guerra signed a one-off deal with Vene music and released his first new album in six years. Entitled " Para Tí" (For you), the album's songs are mostly Christian, it debuted at number one in ''US Top Latin Albums'' and at 110 of US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

. It was three times certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for selling 300,000 copies and sold half a million copies worldwide. It was certified gold in Argentina and Central America and as platinum in Venezuela. This album won two awards at the 2005 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, in the categories of Gospel-Pop and Tropical-Merengue, for the hit single ''Las Avispas'' (The wasps), the first time ever that one song has won these two categories at the same time. Other hits included "Para Tí" and "Soldado" (''Soldier''). In the same ceremony, Guerra was awarded Spirit of Hope Award for his philanthropic work. At the same time, Guerra was honored with the Latino Special Award for the Music Academy of Spain for his contributions to the music of his country and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

in the last 20 years. In the same year, Guerra embarked on his 20-year anniversary tour, "Tour 20 años". In the United States, he visited cities including Miami, Chicago, Washington D.C., Orlando, Boston and a concert at New York`s Madison Square Garden. In November 2005, Guerra was awarded with two awards at the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards for Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) and Best Tropical Song for "Las Avispas". Juan Luis Guerra

In January 2006, Guerra performed at Berklee's 60th anniversary, along with other artists such as

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Dominican pianist and composer. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Background and career Camilo was born into a musical family and as a young child showed aptitude for the accordion ...

and Chiara Civello. That same year, he recorded with Diego Torres in "Abriendo Caminos" (Opening roads) and with

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band formed in 1981. Originally called Sombrero Verde, the current lineup of members is vocalist-guitarist Fher Olvera, drummer Alex González (musician), Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan ...

in "

Bendita Tu Luz #REDIRECT Bendita tu luz {{R from other capitalisation ...

" (Blessed Be Your Light). On 6 April 2006, Guerra was honored as a BMI Icon at the 13th annual BMI Latin Awards. Named BMI's 1995 Latin Songwriter of the Year, Guerra's songwriting has garnered 14 BMI Latin Awards. Guerra set records for the highest-grossing music tour when he opened for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album '' A Bigger Bang''. At the time, it was the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,52 ...

at their

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Puerto Rico show in February 2006. He was also invited by

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

to sing with him at a concert at ''

Altos de Chavón Altos de Chavón is a tourist attraction, a re-creation of a 16th-century Mediterranean–style village, located atop the Chavón River in the city of La Romana, Dominican Republic. It is the most popular attraction in the city and hosts a cultu ...

'', La Romana in the Dominican Republic in 2006. At the ''Premio Lo Nuestro'' awards in 2007, he was given the honorary lifetime achievement award. He also performed the lead single of his new album, "La Llave De Mi Corazón", released in March 2007. Guerra won more than 20 awards with this CD, including 5 Latin Grammy Awards, 6 Premios Casandra awards, 4 billboard Awards, 2 lo nuestro, and one

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

. In 2007,Guerra was awarded the Excellence Award at the 2007 Lo Nuestro Awards. Guerra was honored at the Latin Grammy Awards in the same year with 5 awards, sweeping each category he was nominated in: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Tropical Song, and Best Merengue Album. Its engineers, Allan Leschhorn, Luis Mansilla, Ronnie Torres, and Adam Ayan, were also awarded Best Engineered Album. The night before the Latin Grammy Awards, he received the Academy's Person of the Year Award for his contribution to Latin music and for his philanthropy. On 10 March 2008, Guerra was honored with 6 awards in los Premios Casandra, the most important award event in the Dominican Republic. He won for Orchestrator of the year, Outstanding artist abroad, Music album of the year for "La Llave de mi Corazón" (The Key to My Heart) and "El Soberano" (The Sovereign). On 16 March 2008, he and other artists participated in the '' Paz Sin Fronteras'' concert organized by

Juanes Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 1972), known professionally as Juanes, is a Colombian musician who was a member of the Rock music, rock band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. Since releasing his solo debut album ''Fíjate B ...

, celebrating the end of the

2008 Andean diplomatic crisis The 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off involving the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It began with an incursion into Ecuadorian territory across the Putumayo River by the Military of Colombia, Co ...

between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. On 11 April 2008, Guerra was the Billboard Latin awards big winner, with 7 nominations and 3 awards. On 15 September 2008 Guerra was named a

UNESCO Artist for Peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and UNESCO Champion for ...

"in recognition of his efforts for the benefit of children with disabilities and children in need." On 9 May 2009, Guerra was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater,

at its commencement ceremony.

2010s

On 5 April 2010, Guerra released the official video for his new single "Bachata en Fukuoka". The video was filmed in various locations in the city of Los Angeles, and was directed by Colombian director Simon Brand. On 8 June 2010, Guerra released A son de Guerra which contains eight musical rhythms (bachata, merengue,

Mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

, Rock,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

) and includes the collaboration of

among others. The album contains hits including "La Guagua", "La Calle", and "Bachata en Fukuoka". The first single from his new production, "Bachata en Fukuoka", placed in the # 1 position on the

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ...

, Tropical Songs, and Latin Pop Airplay Songs of the ''Billboard'' charts. Simultaneously, the collaboration of Guerra with

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

on "Cuando me Enamoro" was in the #2 spot on the Rhythm Airplay Chart. In January 2012, the video for his single "En el cielo no hay Hospital" premiered on YouTube. This song belonged to his new album "Colección Cristiana". Later that year, he collaborated with the Spanish singer

Miguel Bosé Miguel Bosé (born Luis Miguel Dominguín Bosé; 3 April 1956) is a Spanish-Italian Pop music, pop singer and actor. Early life Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of Italian actress Lucia Bosè (1931–202 ...

on his album

Papitwo ''Papitwo'' is an album released by Spanish pop singer Miguel Bosé after the success of his first duet album, Papito. The album includes 14 tracks of previously known hit songs by the artist, in reworked versions in collaboration with many arti ...

, in the song "Yo creo en Ti". On 25 April 2014, " Tus Besos" was released. It is a bachata song with a music video inspired by the rock and roll of the 1950s. This video was directed by his son Jean Gabriel. In 2019 during the

Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife () is held each February–March –depending on the year– in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the largest island of the Canary Islands, Spain and attracts people from all over the world. It is con ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Juan Luis Guerra surpassed the record reached in 1987 by

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

by bringing together more than 400,000 people as the largest congregation of people in an open-air plaza to attend a concert.

Singing in other languages

Guerra has recorded several songs in English, like "July 19th" on his 1994 album ''Fogaraté'', and more recently "Medicine for My Soul" and "Something Good" with Italian singer Chiara Civello. Some of his songs have verses in both English and Spanish such as "Woman del

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

", "Guavaberry", "Señorita" on his 1995 compilation album ''Grandes Exitos'' as a bonus track and more recently "''La Llave de Mi Corazón''". The album ''Areíto'' featured two songs, the cover-title song "''Areíto''" and "''Naboria daca, mayanimacaná''", which are sung in the

Arawak language Arawak (, ), also known as Lokono (Lokono Dian, literally "people's talk" by its speakers), is an Arawakan language spoken by the Lokono (Arawak) Indigenous peoples of South America in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and ...

of the extinct Taino natives of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

. Juan Luis Guerra also recorded the album "''Bachata Rosa''" in Portuguese. He uses Japanese words in ''Bachata en Fukuoka'' (Bachata in Fukuoka), 2010 Latin Grammy winner for Best Tropical Song.

As a composer for other artists

In 1988, he made his debut as a songwriter for other artists such as fellow Dominican musician Taty Salas, for whom he wrote the music for ''De tu boca'', a song with which he participated in the now defunct OTI Festival, reaching the top 3 category. He also composed songs for Mexican artists like

Emmanuel Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy of ...

(''No he podido verte'', recorded in 1990) and

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

(''Hasta que me olvides'' 1993 and ''Te necesito'' 2003). He also composed for the Puerto Rican salsa singer

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

in 1994 (''Te Propongo'').

Lyrical style

Being a native Dominican, his music is heavily influenced by native Caribbean rhythms, such as merengue and bachata. His lyrics are often charged with intentionally simple, heavily metaphorical, or popular expressions, such as "''Burbujas de Amor''" (Bubbles of Love). His lyrics also reflect in political issues, but from a deeply human perspective, that is, centering the lyrics in the human drama that social injustice generates. This is seen in "''Visa Para un Sueño''" about the broken dream of a visit to America. "''El Niágara en Bicicleta''" — a title based on the Cuban

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

, "''al pasar el Niagara en bicicleta''", meaning a difficult task — describes the negligence that destroys the social health services. "''El Costo de La Vida''" describes the effects of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

and government corruption on the

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

people; "''Acompáñeme Civil''" ("Accompany me Civilian") is about police and military corruption that exploits the people that they should care for.

Discography

* ''

'' (1984) * '' Mudanza y Acarreo'' (1985) * '' Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú'' (1987) * '' Ojalá Que Llueva Café'' (1989) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Fogaraté'' (1994) * '' Ni es lo mismo ni es igual'' (1998) * '' Para Ti'' (2004) * '' La Llave de Mi Corazón'' (2007) * '' A Son de Guerra'' (2010) * ''

Colección Cristiana ''Colección Cristiana'' is the 12th album by Dominican songwriter and musician Juan Luis Guerra, released on February 28, 2012. It is also his first Christian album since 2004's ''Para Ti''. Unlike the first Christian album, Para Ti in 2004, this ...

'' (2012) * '' Todo Tiene Su Hora'' (2014) * '' Literal'' (2019) * '' Privé'' (2020) * '' Radio Güira'' (2023)

Tours

* ''Ojala Que Llueva Cafe Tour (1990–91)'' * '' Bachata Rosa World Tour (1991–92)'' * '' Areito World Tour (1993)'' * '' Tour 20 años (2004–06)'' * '' La Travesia Tour (2008–09)'' * '' A Son de Guerra World Tour (2011–13)'' * '' Todo Tiene Su Hora Tour (2015–17)'' * '' Literal Tour Grandes Éxitos (2019)'' * '' Entre Mar y Palmeras Tour (2022-24)''

Awards and nominations

440 band members

*Janina Rosado *Roger Zayas-Bazán * Maridalia Hernández *Mariela Mercado *Marco Hernández (replaced Maridalia Hernández) *Adalgisa Pantaleón (replaced Mariela Mercado) *Quico Rizek (replaced Marco Hernández)

Personal life

Guerra is the son of Gilberto Guerra Pacheco and Olga Seijas Herrero; he has two brothers, José Gilberto Guerra Seijas, plastic surgeon, and Diego Esteban Guerra Seijas, economist. He is married to Nora Clementina Altagracia Vega Rasuk, and has two children. His wife is the aunt of

Miss Universe 2003 Miss Universe 2003 was the 52nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City, Panama on 3 June 2003. The winner, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was crowned by Justine Pasek of Panama as Miss Universe 2003. ...

Amelia Vega Polanco. In 2000, he became an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

and worship director at the “Más Que Vencedores” church in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. On 17 October 2008, he participated as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO in an event called "Levántate y Actúa contra la Pobreza y por los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio", in Bavaro, Dominican Republic, during the International Conference of the Americas. On 18 April 2010, he organized a concert to raise money for those who were affected by the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. After this successful event was held, a children's hospital was later built in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

References

Bibliography

* *Hutchinson, Sydney. "Guerra, Juan Luis." Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed., 2013. *

External links